The Matierals to Work Your Magic With

If you look to the right, I am trying to keep up to date with some of my before and after pictures. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of this before a good number of my jobs. But I will endeavor to do so from here on out so that I may share my ideas with you. 

I promised you tips on the cheaper side of organizing. One thing you need to get past is the word “cheaper”. This word is not instantly synonymous with poorer quality! More expensive doesn’t mean better. There are many things you may already have, or can easily get, that cost little or no money and can help you with your organizing. Let me show you some:

Boxes: Boxes you have bought stuff in, or things shipped to your house. (Those amazon boxes are great to save). You can ask for boxes at a grocery store, or pack your groceries into them, and some drug stores will have extra boxes of all sizes. If you’re local to Cincinnati, try Aldis. They’re always willing to part with boxes. Shoe boxes are great! My van has an old Duracell display box in middle of the seats to keep small things in and prevent them from sliding around. Important: Don’t make the mistake of saving too many of these and becoming a box hoarder!

Plastic Containers: No, not the big ones you have to pay lots of money for. How about the ones you have in the kitchen that you lost the lid for, or the ones they sell at the dollar store, or old baby wipe containers? There are lots of plastic things we could use that we normally just recycle. Recycle them in your drawers and closets instead!

Baskets: The ones people have given you. Ones you have just sitting around. You can even buy several sizes and types at the dollar stores. Another great place to find these are at Goodwill, a thrift store or a garage sale. I got my bread box for a dollar, and it’s a nice one!

Ziploc Bags: They don't have to be Ziploc brand, just any bag you can group stuff in and close. They come in all sizes, they're cheap and great for things big and small; anything from beads, to crayons, to belt buckles.

Milk Crates and other Crates: If you have any of these lying around and want to pretty them up, you can get cheap shelf paper and cover them.

It may take some gathering and some time, but it’s worth it to save you $200 on containers just to organize one closet. Yard sale season is an organizer's smorgasbord!

I will leave you with one last organizational tip. It is a simple one, but one that is oft forgotten: ALWAYS start organizing by removing everything from whatever it is you want to organize.  Common sense, huh? It’s not as common as you think.

Until next time! Send me your ideas and your questions!